within the story to attack these social evils. Through Valjean’s experience with imprisonment, Hugo criticizes France’s corrupt and unjust justice system; through Fantine’s struggles, he attacks society’s cruel treatment of women; and through the Thenardiers’ actions, he showcases the selfish, ruthless nature of those within society. Hugo uses Jean Valjean's imprisonment and immediate release to criticize France's inadequate justice system. To describe Valjean's punishment, Hugo writes, “In October
own factory, and has been elected Mayor Madeline, a new name, to begin a new life. In his factory, works a woman, Fantine, who has given up her child so that she could work to begin a new life, as well. Her daughter, Cosette, was left with the Thenardiers. She was treated terribly, and was forced to eat under the table, with the dog. Meanwhile, Javert, an officer in the galleys where Valjean served, denounces Valjean, because he claims he recognizes him as a former convict. However, he later changes
metaphors are often used to develop characters. In the book Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, there is no shortage of these literary devices. With the assistance of animal imagery and metaphors, Hugo develops the characters of Javert, Jean Valjean, and Thénardier. Throughout the novel, Hugo represents Javert as a tiger, which is a major part of his characterization. Javert is captured by the barricade for spying, and is sentenced to death. Valjean comes in and takes him away from the barricade and sets him
would probable show that human perception is flawed and that people trust it more than they should. In Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables he suggests that by following only our perception will not always lead to the truth, with the characters of Thénardier, Jean Valjean, and Inspecter Javert. Perhaps the
In his novel, Les Miserables, author Victor Hugo makes a strong statement about society being the cause for evil in man. Les Miserables is based on a poor man, Jean Valjean, who was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving baby. Valjean is sentenced to 20 years for his crime, and, when he is released, he is shunned for his past, which he has more than paid for. Society turns him out at every turn for his past crime, and will hear no excuses for his deed. With this scenario
state. Humans are born with neither good nor bad instincts, but rather society affects our actions and thoughts. Hugo portrays the neutral state of mind through Jean Valjean and Cosette. The two extremes of good and evil are represented through Thénardier and the bishop. Good and evil coexists in the society and affects Valjean and Cosette. It is the two extremes of good and evil that dictate the lives of Valjean and Cosette. The bishop represents charity and love. Everything he's ever had, he gave
misery through the experiences of men, women, and children and effectively transports the reader into the world Hugo has created. The first way Hugo shows misery is through the men of his story, and more specifically, the misery in Jean Valjean, and Thénardier. Jean Valjean has every reason to be a miserable man; society has thrown every possible tragedy at him, and as a result “Jean Valjean had this peculiarity, that he might be said to carry two knapsacks; in one he had the thoughts of a saint, in the
Not only do they play major roles in their stories, but they both abuse the power they have. When looking at M. Thenardier, it’s noticeable that he knows how to manipulate and guilt people to get what he wants. Ms. Thenardier does the same thing, she is able to take the small amount of control she had over cosette and basically make her their property, instead of a child. Lady Macbeth is a prime example of power being
everyone still respects and loves him because of all the noble and honorable things he did since he got out of jail. “In his struggle against fate, Jean Valjean becomes a Christ-like figure who expiated the sins of humanity” (Taylor). Others like Thenardiers have to change their name due to shame of what they have become. They never learn their lesson and continue to try to hide their past instead of compensating for the horrible things they have done. Through all the hardships and disguises Valjean
Instead, Kim abuses his power to gain personal wealth leaving his country in deep poverty. He gains while his people suffer. Theirs is a helpless situation which they are powerless to change. In the book Les Miserables, the Thenardiers take in Cosette. The Thenardiers are a middle class people who cherish money and the status it brings. When they get the chance to hook Fantine they gladly take it. They constantly demand money from Fantine to take care of her child, Cosette. She has no option
An unwed mother is the unfortunate being who bears a child out of wedlock, and she is someone who is shamed upon by the rest of the world. If one were to listen to a story of an unwed mother, all he/she would hear about is the whispering and pointing they experienced. For years, the shame of being an unwed mother forced many women to hide their secret or even give their children up. In the timeless novel of Les Miserables Victor Hugo uses the theme of social injustice to hint at the lifestyle of
a person or between peoples in a particular (juridical) case. But is justice really blind? Well, we'll discover the answer using the exemple of the unfair justice treatment of Jean Valjean (a repented thief), and the family Thénardiers (Monsieur Thénardier and Madame Thénardier) in the famous novel of Victor Hugo Les Misérables. Les Misérables follows the struggle of Jean Valjean trying to become a better man in the Post-Napoleonic France society fulled of unfair justice.This will lead us to the meaning
see the world more cautiously and be sure not to fall into society’s trap. Fantine was destroyed when she was fired and could no longer support herself. The female Thénardiers are broken when they lose Cosette and have no one to do work for them. Equally as important, Cosette is spoiled when she is treated like a slave by the Thénardiers. Fantine’s unemployment leads to the ruin of her pride, physical being and mental state. Fantine has no choice but to have the Thénardier’s watch over her daughter
dramatically changes how their characters are shaped. Through actions of Gavroche, Marius, and Monsieur Thenardier, Victor Hugo shows that different moral values change the way people deal with and work to survive poverty. Gavroche demonstrates that a positive character and strongly valuing freedom can lead one
darkness through her time spent with the Thènardiers, her transformation with Jean Valjean, and her flourishing into a young woman. Victor Hugo uses Cosette to represent the children of the time period and how they cannot grow without love and light. To show how Cosette is unable to grow in darkness, Hugo makes the reader feel sympathy for the poor little girl. When Cosette is a young child, her mother gives her to an innkeeper and his family, the Thènardiers, so that she can find work and provide
For each reading, respond to the prompt that Mr. Chandler provides. Each response should be 1-2 paragraphs in length, using 3-4 direct quotes from the novel for evidence. Be sure to cite page numbers for each quote. This journal is your final exam for Les Miserables. Unless directed otherwise, please complete these journals without external help. As always, be sure to avoid plagiarism, and follow the class writing rubric to guide your writing. À bientôt! 1/30/14 Characterize either Monseigneur Bienvenu
The novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini introduces multiple cases in which society defines people as well as the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. In Les Miserables, Cosette is introduced as the daughter of Fantine. She was given to the Thenardiers, a family who owned an Inn and treated her like a slave. Since a young
suffers from her family injustice. After period of time, her family inn goes bankrupt, they live in dirty and poverty. To help her family, she visit a church to asks for charitable. "Love forces her to choose between loyalty to her family (the Thenardiers) and their way of life, and her desire to impress her beloved Marius" (Fernie. "Character Studies.."). That appears in Paris, Eponine met Marius and fell in love with him, that reflects the good side of her personality and at the same time she was
Madeleine. Afterwards, he meets a woman by the name of Fantine, who suffers from a great amount of misery. Fantine, having no way to support her child, Cosette, has given her to a family named the Thenardiers to take care of Cosette until she can support her. Oblivious to the mother, the Thenardiers are cruel and treat Cosette as a slave. Jean Valjean promises to retrieve Cosette for her mother; however, he reveals his true identity when someone in a neighboring town is put to trial under his name
His case was one of utmost peculiarity, as he was seemingly a character with one of the most bizarre stories. Carefree, Thénardier managed to survive in the lowest of social classes through his utter flexibility and cunning nature. So caught up in his own avaricious ways, he became incapable of charity for humanity. However the most striking aspect of his journey is that he